Photographer's Note

I knew about this wreck on Fraser island already in Warsaw and I was looking forward to making some shots of it. It is something for rust lovers!
Fraser Island is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland. It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km².
One can think that there is only sand there, but not at all! The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.
A major landmark on Fraser Island is the shipwreck of the S.S. Maheno. The Maheno was built in Scotland in 1905 as a luxury passenger ship for the trans-Tasman crossing. During the First World War she served as a hospital ship in the English Channel, and was then returned to her owners to resume her usual commercial operation. By 1935 the ship had been taken out of service was sold to a ship-breaker in Japan. On 25 June 1935, while being towed to Osaka to be broken up, she was caught in a strong cyclone about 80 kilometres off the coast of Queensland. The towline parted, and on 9 July 1935 the Maheno became beached on the east coast of Fraser Island.
(After Wikipedia)

Hi Malgo
now this floats my boat (sorry for the pun) but I love old boat wrecks, they make such good subjects. This is a superb one too and captured so beautifully. Haunting and full of wonderful detail. Excellent.

I used to go fishing off this wreck during my vacation years ago. I've uploaded a shot to TE too. Might link to it later. Good sharpness and a subtle warm cold color contrast between the rusty red and blue sea and sky. The diagonal axis adds dynamism and perspective. Tfs!

Here it is, over on TL: http://www.treklens.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=87413

You are in a similar mood to Brian Denton who has also posted a beautiful shipwreck recently. I love it and hope you don't mind me adding it to my theme. You did really well with the light you had. The sand looks great, as does the shipwreck. There wasn't much you could do about the sky, which wasn't helping you at all, but I think the composition and light control are excellent.

Hi Malgo
haha...here it is!!
Sorry about that Malgo :)
and you're right, how on earth did i miss this one?
If I were here in person I'd be a very happy man.
the salty water and air must be eating this old wreck alive every day.
and i'm seriously impressed that you knew about this subject when you were already home in Warsaw, thats what I do :)
Now you can say you've been on the world's largest sand island - how many people can say that.

love these old rusted beauties. I wonder how long it'll last.
cool shot
cheers
craig